Bulgaria's History

In ancient times, Bulgaria was occupied by the Thracians, an Indo-European tribe, the first evidence of which comes from the writings of Homer. The Thracians occupied what is today Bulgaria, Northern Greece, Tessalonika, the Ukraine and the southern part of Romania. In fact, Herodotus wrote that the Thracians were the most numerous people in the world, second only to the Indians. This civilization began in the 7^th Century BC and flourished in the 3^rd Century BC under the reign of Alexander the Great. After his death in 332 BC, his empire was divided into thirds and Bulgaria fell within the Antigonid Empire, which encompassed what had been Greece and Macedonia as well. By the 1^st Century AD, the Romans occupied Bulgaria which proved to be a strategic location, especially in terms of keeping the barbarians at arm's length on the other side of the Danube.

While the Greeks colonized the coast, the Romans settled inland. Due to their powerful military, it was relatively easy for the Romans to occupy Bulgaria, and they built their towns on top of the Thracian ruins. They began building several large cities along the Danube; the most notable in this area included Ratziaria and Dorostorum. Creating these cities provided a sort of "belt" to protect the province from invaders and the cities were eventually connected by roads which allowed for easy movement of troops and goods. The Romans found their way to Belogradchik in the foothills of the Balkan Mountains after settling along the banks of the Danube, only about 50km away. Many of the Roman settlements in northwest Bulgaria, such as Belogradchik, were established as something akin to a modern day retirement community for members of the Roman legion.

The development of Bulgaria's national identity was steady over the first millennium A.D. and it was affected by a number of external influences, shaping shaped it into the modern nation it is today.  The Slavs settled here in the 5^th Century and were succeeded by settlers who established the Bulgarian state in the 7^th Century. In the 9^th Century, Khan Boris of Bulgaria adopted Constantinople's model of Eastern Orthodox Christianity which remains the country's most widely-practiced religion. A century later, Bulgaria adopted the Cyrillic alphabet. In fact, when Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, Cyrillic was elevated to the third official alphabet of the union along with Greek and Latin.  The first Bulgarian Kingdom was established by Bulgars of Turkish descent; the first and second Bulgarian kingdoms endured until Bulgaria was absorbed by the Ottoman Empire.

Bulgaria's 20^th Century history is equally interesting. Bulgaria allied with Germany in both world wars. One week before his death, Bulgarian King Boris met with Hitler who asked that the king deport Bulgaria's Jews to the Nazi camps. Although Boris agreed to this to appease Hitler, he instead sent the Jews from Sofia and Plovdiv east to protect them, thus refusing to destroy the nation's Jewish population. Legend has it that Boris' death was the result of poisoning ordered by Hitler who had found out that he had saved the Jews. From the end of World War II until 1989, the nation was ruled by a communist government and known as the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Since 1989, the Republic of Bulgaria has enjoyed a free market economy and democratic government, joining the EU in 2007.